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Streaming service Disney+ will launch in South Africa next month on the 18 May and is set to rival Netflix and DStv.
Its original content includes thousands of movies from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and subscribers will have access to hits like Star Wars’ The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian.
If you happen to feel nostalgic you can also watch back episodes of The Simpsons, Queens, and The Kardashians.
But how will Disney+ compare cost wise to its rivals?
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Comparing the costs
Disney+ will cost subscribers R119 per month or R1,190 a year. It’s currently cheaper than rival Netflix, which last year increased its prices by 14% to R159 per month.
For this price, Netflix allows you to watch its series on any device at a maximum picture quality of 1080p. However, Netflix has different packages and if you’re happy to watch it on your phone or tablet you can get it for R49 a month.
Netflix has its own unique content too, which includes hits like Squid Game, romantic drama series Bridgerton, which is now offering season 2 ‘The Viscount who loved me’, and science fiction horror Stranger Things, to name but a few.
These are of course both cheaper than some of the larger packages that DStv has to offer, which includes the Family package at R299, Compact at R409, Compact Plus at R519 and Premium at R799 a month*.
Subscription society
As another service with a subscription model enters the South African market, consumers should ask themselves if they’re set to benefit from it all. South Africa, like the rest of the world, is turning into a subscription society.
This means we’re consuming more subscription services than ever before and signing up to repeat services that we may not be using to their full capacity in a couple of months or even years’ time.
Some companies even make it hard to cancel subscriptions, so it’s always wise to read the full terms and conditions before you sign up to the service. If you’re trying out the service for the first time, the company may offer you a free trial.
Take note of when this free trial ends and how far in advance you need to cancel the offer before you get enrolled onto the full service at cost. Too many people fall into the trap of not cancelling before the free trial ends, only to be saddled with a service that they don’t need.
Are you subscribing to too many services?
We’re not singling out any service here, but some companies with subscription models are known for making it difficult to cancel them and some even try to capitalise on the fact that people tend to forget to cancel the various subscriptions they have signed up to.
In the United Kingdom, for example, there are now several services, such as ScribePay and Truebill, that helps people to manage their subscriptions and it’s likely that South Africa will follow with such a service.
Remember too, that subscriptions typically go up in price annually and ‘honeymoon’ rates never remain. So, if you are keen on subscribing to Disney+ think about all the other services you’re currently using that allows you to binge watch multiple series and various types of content.
Ask yourself: “Are you signing up to Disney+ because you’ll truly watch their unique streaming content or is it yet another service, you’ll be using that gets used on an ad hoc basis?” If you know you’ll eventually revert to other programmes from other providers, then don’t get tempted by all the hype.
*Prices all correct as of 5 April 2022
